Summer 2020 exams cancelled and further changes regarding UK Higher Education
Department of Education and Secretary of State Education Gavin Williamson have published a press release with further details on exams and grades announced. The Universities Minister has asked universities not to make any changes to the existing offers for the next two weeks. UCAS extended the deadline for universities to make decisions.
What changed and what does it mean for applicants?
- A levels and GCSE exams cancelled
- Students will receive a moderated grade in July based on their predicted grades
- Applicants can sit their exams later on or in September or in Summer 2021
- Universities started to change conditional offers into unconditional ones
- Universities Minister Michelle Donelan asked universities to refrain from any changes in the next 2 weeks
- UCAS to extend the universities’ offer making decision deadline
This article brings detailed explanations of what changed in universities world in the last few weeks due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Exams cancelled
Ofqual, the UK exam regulator and exam boards will work with teachers to provide grades to students who wish to continue their education in universities.
A levels, GCSEs and other qualifications exams have all been cancelled due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. The main priority now is to find solutions that will enable students to transition from one stage of their lives to another without any major disruptions.
The plan is to predict the grades from existing information teachers and assessors have, and there will be an option to sit an exam early in the next academic year for students who wish to.
For everyone else, a calculated grade will be provided, that will reflect their performance and knowledge as precisely as possible, in collaboration with exam boards and teachers.
These predicted grades should be provided before the end of July so students can continue with their potential applications swimmingly.
In terms of a permanent record and comparison to previous years, the grades will be indistinguishable and the aim is that this year’s students don’t face a disadvantage as a consequence of these unexpected events. However, there still may be students who find this situation disappointing, and they will be able to appeal. If they feel their grades have not been predicted correctly, they will have an option to sit an exam at the earliest chance possible, or in summer 2021.
Universities asked not to make any changes for the next two weeks
After these changes have been made, universities started changing their conditional offers into unconditional to secure their attendance for the next academic year.
On 23rd March, after few universities have started this initiative, the Universities Minister Michelle Donelan has asked universities to refrain from changing their offers for the next two weeks to maintain stability in the system.
She highlights that universities are already facing significant pressures and that this move will increase financial uncertainty and volatility for all institutions. You can find the whole press release here.
Uni/College decisions deadline due by end of May
On a different note, UCAS has made a release today with changes made regarding the universities’ deadline to make an offer.
If you have applied to a university by 15 January, the previous deadline (6th May) has now been extended by two weeks. Students now have until 20th May to confirm their places at their chosen universities if they got an offer.
What should you do?
At this highly confusing time, we would advise you to take your time if and when you receive an unconditional offer. Try not to react to it immediately as it may not be the only one you get. Keep in mind that the decision deadline from UCAS has also been extended and may result in more than one offer, just a bit later than you expected. OK Student is an approved UCAS application centre and feel free to contact us if you need any type of assistance. Send us an email on info@okstudent.ac.uk.
